Koyo USA fined $5M for water bottling violations

Koyo USA Corp. has been fined $5 million for violations at its Big Island water bottling plant, Hawaii Department of Health officials said Friday.

The company, which markets its filtered bottled ocean water under the brand name Mahalo Hawaii Deep Sea to customers in Hawaii and Japan, was issued a notice of violation for adulterating its bottled water product, the health department said in a news release.

The company was permitted to filter ocean water to produce its bottled water at its facility at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority in Kailua-Kona, but was required to adhere to a specific process, the health department said.

An investigation in May found that the company had “purposefully diverted concentrated ocean water that had been rejected by its reverse osmosis system and, through bypass piping, blended it into their final bottled water product” from 2006 to May 2011, the health department said.

Health officials are not recalling any of the company’s bottled water products. Test results from both independent laboratories and the state confirm that the products pose no immediate threat or risk to human health, the health department said.

Koyo USA has cooperated with correcting the unpermitted filtration process, and the operation at the Kona plant is being monitored by state health officials, the health department said. The company has 20 days to contest the violation notice and request a hearing.